Creeker's Weekend Accomplishments.....

[Dennis Peacock]

29 Apr 2013

Good Morning Everyone,
The most recent thing for us is that the HVAC folks finally finished up the replacement of our 18 year old heating & air conditioning unit, replaced improper ducting/return/supply lines. This 2 day task took them a full week to get done. My job in the whole thing was to take all the vinyl siding off of the gable end of my house so they could take the old furnace/unit out of the attic space, have room and light to take out the old trunk line and build/install a new one. They did a LOT of work over all those days. My boys and I replaced the old faded and worn vinyl siding with new vinyl siding and this also gave me the opportunity to teach my boys how to install vinyl siding. Yes, they were the typical teenagers with the grumbling and complaining, but they finally got to enjoying the work and got to admire all their hard work once it was all finished.

We now have new replacement windows on order and they are expected to arrive in 2-3 weeks. This is when I will get to teach my boys how to do one more thing around the house. THEN.....they will get to learn how to take up old worn out carpet and install new Bella Cera engineered flooring.

My #2 son and I are in the works of planning his senior trip after his graduation. As it stands right now, we are taking a motorcycle trip to Savannah, GA and then up the east coast to around the Newport News area in VA. Then we will make the turn and head back home. The trip, as it stands right now, appears to be around 2,700 miles. He wanted a motorcycle trip to the east coast to both see and swim in the ocean....so that's what we will do. I'm looking for places to stay and things to see along the way...so if you have any advice/suggestions? I'm listening.

Well, that's it for me....so what did YOU do this past weekend?

Best of weeks to you all.!!

[David Weaver]

Painted an add-on room to the house and primed all of the trim. Not a big fan of painting!!

[Matt Meiser]

Other than that I went to Woodcraft, no woodworking for me.

LOMLjr had her first school dance Friday night. LOML and I dropped her and a friend off there then went out to dinner. The friend spent the night and her dad picked her up and checked out how our kitchen turned out. By chance, he is in management at the company that did our countertops (we found this out after our project was well under way) but he's also a woodworker.

After they left we headed to a small town about 45 minutes east where my brother works for a bike shop to surprise LOMLjr with a new bike as she'd way outgrown her current bike. She ended up going from a 20" kids bike to a pretty good sized adult bike that might be a hair to big for her but won't be for long--it was that bad! Unless she grows crazy tall though she should be set until she can buy her own or even longer. My brother is a pretty good salesman I guess--he put us all on bikes to head out for a ride presumably for her to check out her bike. LOML had gotten a new bike for her 2 years ago from my brother and parents as a birthday gift so he put her on the same bike she has. He put me on one he really likes. By the time we got back it had been decided that I was taking the one I was on too. Since he now had 2 bikes to set up it pretty much took all afternoon. We headed right home and I mowed for the first time which ended up being a bit of a mud-bog too-- I had to hose down the whole machine when I was done.

Sunday we had to get up early as LOMLjr had a volleyball tournament. This was her team's third tournament ever. A lot of the teams have been together (and playing) a lot longer so obviously they are a lot better but our girls did win their first game this week. We got home from the tournament, did a 10 minute turnaround at home and headed out to take her the soup kitchen where her Girl Scout troop was serving and to pick up dinner to take to my parents.

Busy weekend!

[Doug Richardson]

We have a DJ/karaoke business, so with it being HS Prom season, spent a lot of time picking up / dropping off systems this weekend. But after the last of the equipment was picked up Sunday, we rented a drum sander at Menards, and did the final couple passes on the living room floor before cleaning, staining and finishing this week. After returning the sander, I finished doing some edge sanding, and then decided to replaced the first floor board in front of the front door. it was slightly warped horizontally, and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life looking at that board as I walked the front hallway thinking: "That board looks like crap! I should have replaced that....."

[Troy Turner]

Hmmm, Saturday I installed a water conditioner, emptied the water heater from all the build up calcium in the bottom, and cleaned up some faucets to see if the water conditioner works.
Sunday, now that was the good day. Broke down my 80's contractor saw to relube everything. It had a hard time raising and lowering, and come to find out, the big steel cylinder piece on the trunion and raising gear was binding. Had to "force" it out. Wired brushed everything, through some grease on it and that thing moves like butter. Now I'm just waiting on my pulleys and new motor to get here so I can get back to work.

[Rod Sheridan]

Unfortunately I worked, we had a power system release for UPS maintenance.

The only woodworking type stuff I did was measure the moisture of the wood that I've been air drying outside over the winter. It's now down to 15% and ready to move into the shop to complete the drying.

Dennis, sounds like a nice trip, I'm picking up will probably be my last motorcycle, an F700GS BMW from the dealer this Friday. Big change from the bike in my avatar which is 37 years old now. If the new one lasts as long it will outlast my riding career.......Rod.

[Jeff Monson]

Sprayed some built-in cases and bases this weekend, I'm sick of spraying to say the least. Sealer, 3 coats of white base lacquer followed by 3 topcoats of high gloss clear. Took the whole day to complete. Took the kids to the circus on Sunday, and helped the wife make a fountain.

[John TenEyck]

I cut down a pine tree on our front lawn, about 18" in diameter by 40 ft tall, that's been dead for about a year. Dropped right where I planned; no Vonage moments for me yesterday. Cutting it down took 10 minutes. Cutting the limbs off and into 16" lengths took another 30 minutes. Splitting it all into firewood took two or three hours and about wore me out. No way I'm carrying it away today.

If your trip goes anywhere near Asheville, NC it's well worth the effort to go see the Biltmore Mansion. It's one of America's great homes, and estates. It's not a cheap tour at around $50 a head, but it's well worth it if you have any interest in grand old homes and over the top woodworking. My wife and I did the standard tour when we were there, which was quite impressive, but I want to go back and take the engineer's tour or architect's tour, can't remember for sure what it's called, but you get to see a lot more of the inner workings of the building. And if you like shrimp and grits, the ones at the hotel on the estate are terrific.

The BMW factory tour in Greer, SC is also great. You need to make reservations ahead of time; I can't remember if it costs anything but if it does it's minimal.

A stop in Charleston, SC to see Fort Sumter would be worthwhile, too, and right on your way.

And Williamsburg, VA is a great step back in time and well worth a visit.

John

[Rod Sheridan]

If your trip goes anywhere near Asheville, NC it's well worth the effort to go see the Biltmore Mansion. It's one of America's great homes, and estates. It's not a cheap tour at around $50 a head, but it's well worth it if you have any interest in grand old homes and over the top woodworking. My wife and I did the standard tour when we were there, which was quite impressive, but I want to go back and take the engineer's tour or architect's tour, can't remember for sure what it's called, but you get to see a lot more of the inner workings of the building. And if you like shrimp and grits, the ones at the hotel on the estate are terrific.


And Williamsburg, VA is a great step back in time and well worth a visit.

John

Funny you should mention Biltmore, Diann and I will be riding down to the BMWRA Rally at Biltmore June 20 through 23.

It's the second time the rally has been there, fantastic place.................Rod.

[Joe Shinall]

Dennis, you will love Savannah. It's great down here. If you need to know about anything, let me know. I have lived here all my life, 30 years. Just don't expect clear water at the beach. Ships come in and out of port and stir up the sand really bad. Pretty dark. But beautiful views and historic downtown is a great place to walk around.

This weekend we were cleaning the boat up, getting ready for the summer. It sat under a tree all winter and covered in pine straw and mildew. After getting half the boat done, neighbor came out and offered up his pressure washer. Made short work of the other half. Decided to borrow it another day and pressure washed the house sunday to get it ready to paint. Always wanted a brick house and never wanted to paint it but previous owners closed in the garage and used a brick that didn't match so it looks bad. Pressure washed the golf cart and the patio while I was at it. Probably used up half the island's water supply this weekend.

Go to this website, will tell you a little about it:

http://www.drbeach.org/Georgia.htm

[Aaron Conway]

Finished another wall in my shop...ShopWall.jpg

[Shawn Pixley]

Last week was a brutal week at work. Over the weekend I finished a gift project after running household errands on Saturday. Sunday I got up and started the inly on a box project I am working on. Spent six solid hours at it before stopping. It is remarkable how little there is to show for all the time spent. Afterwards, I spent a few hours prepping for work today. The family forced me to stop and have dinner with them.

Back at work today - solid meetings from 8 AM to 5:30 PM, then the real work begins... I'm tard!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Finished putting a faceframe on my new "Norm's Deluxe Router Station" with some minor modifications. Completed the drawers and the door for the below table DC chamber.

Next up......planing the hardwood trim to fit, sanding and finish.

[Bill Wyko]

I worked on building the tray for my box for the Baileigh contest. I'll be posting everything tomorrow.